By Abdi Aynte

Minneapolis, Minnesota – Ever since six Muslim Imams were removed from a Minneapolis flight late last year, many local Muslims said they avoid the attention-grabbing activities that prompted the whole incident. Still, most of them hardly board a flight without being thoroughly searched, and at times questioned for hours.

For many, a new post 9/11 era was born. And they have a new name for it: “Flying While Muslim,” or FWM.

Modeled after “Driving While Black,” a term coined for a widely held belief that African-American drivers are disproportionately targeted by the police, Muslims say the actions of a few bad apples are causing them immense hurdles at U.S. airports.

No one knows that better than Mohamad Elmasry, a 31-year-old Ph.D. student, who was born in the United States. While on a plane on the tarmac recently at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and waiting to take off, the pilot suddenly announced over the intercom system that “Mr. Elmasry should make himself known to the flight attendant.”

“It was humiliating,” said Elmasry. “I said to myself: ‘What have I done to deserve this?’”

When he raised his hand, the flight attendant politely told him that they just wanted to make sure that everything was OK. Over the duration of the flight, Elmasry said “his moves were watched by pretty much everyone in the plane.”

Though this incident is unique, other Muslim travelers say the so-called “random searches” by the staff of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) mean regular searches for them.

In a recent Public Broadcasting Services documentary, a reporter and a producer posed as a Muslim couple to examine the truth about FWM. Sure enough, they were pulled aside and thoroughly searched on several flights. The pair was able to board other flights with minimal security checks when not dressing like Muslims.

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